Summer signing Romeo Lavia has been ruled of Chelsea’s Premier League clash against Bournemouth on Sunday due to an ankle injury, manager Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed via Chelseafc.com.
Lavia completed his big-money move to Stamford Bridge this summer from Southampton and is yet to make an appearance for the Blues – who have a torrid start to the new season.
The 19-year-old had been training with his new teammates ahead of his long-awaited debut for the club but he limped out of training last week and could be out for several weeks.
According to Pochettino, the Belgium U-21 international twisted his ankle and they are awaiting to know the extent of the injury on Monday. The West Londoners have picked up just four points from their first four league games this term.
“We are really disappointed because I think he was training really well last week in the international break,” the former PSG and Tottenham manager said.
“He twisted his ankle and now we are waiting for Monday to hear yes or no from the doctor. We hope that it’s not a big issue but in the last week he could not train with the team.
“It’s a sad situation because he was nearly fit to be involved again with the team. Now we need to wait and hope it is not a big issue for him, and the team of course because he cannot help the team. We don’t know how long it will be because we need to assess him, assess the nature of the injury. Until then we don’t how much time he will need to recover.”
Positive injury update
Chelsea have been very unfortunate with injuries this season with the likes of Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah, Armando Broja, Wesley Fofana, Christopher Nkunku, and skipper Reece James all on the sidelines.
James has been out of action since Chelsea’s league opener against Liverpool last month, however, Pochettino is hopeful the England international will be available for for selection after the October international break.
“He’s recovering well. I cannot say if he is close or not because we assess him every single day. He has started doing things on the pitch with the ball,” he said.
He is doing really well, he is desperate to come back and help the team. I hope that he’s close and can be available before the next international break.”
Chelsea take on Bournemouth on the south coast this afternoon before welcoming Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge next Sunday. Pochettino will be hoping to put the clubs injury woes behind them to get their campaign up and running.
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